Football: Preseason snub avenged

North Texas offensive lineman Cyril Lemon, left, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor (3) and center Kaydon Kirby (50) celebrate a touchdown against Ball State on Sept. 14 at Apogee Stadium. On Tuesday, Lemon and Chancellor were named to the All-Conference USA first team and Kirby was named to the league’s all-freshman team. Pictured at far right is receiver Darnell Smith, who received all-conference honorable mention.

Mean Green lands 12 players on All-Conference USA team

Just two days after UNT received an invitation to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, several of the key players who made a breakout season possible were named to the All-Conference USA team.

UNT had 12 players named to the team overall, including four who earned a spot on the first team. Placing such a large contingent on the team represented a dramatic improvement from earlier this year when UNT failed to have a single player named to the Preseason All-C-USA team.

Offensive lineman Cyril Lemon, linebacker Zach Orr, safety Marcus Trice and Brelan Chancellor were named to the first team. Chancellor was named to the first team as both a punt returner and kick returner.

Offensive lineman Mason Y’Barbo and defensive end Aaron Bellazin were on the second team, where Chancellor earned a spot as a wide receiver.

UNT center Kaydon Kirby and punter Blake Macek were named to the all-freshman team.

C-USA will announce the league’s players of the year today.

Being named to the All-C-USA team was another milestone in a season full of them for Orr, Trice, Chancellor, Bellazin, Byrd, Smith and Abbe. All seven are key members of a senior class that has helped guide UNT during its turnaround season.

UNT finished the regular season at 8-4, a performance that landed the Mean Green its first bowl bid since 2004.

“I can’t even put into words what this means for our seniors,” UNT head coach Dan McCarney said after the Mean Green found out Sunday it is headed to the Heart of Dallas Bowl. “When the torch was passed to these guys last year, they put their foot in the ground and said let’s be different. We have one more shot together as a team.”

Rice, which won C-USA’s West Division and beat Marshall in the league’s championship game, led the all-conference team with five first-team players. UNT also earned five first-team slots, with Chancellor’s selection as both the punt and kick returner.

The 14 total spots UNT earned on the team tied for second most in school history and is the highest for the program since the 2002 season, when the Mean Green won the Sun Belt title and beat Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl.

UNT has won six of its last seven games, its best run since winning four straight Sun Belt titles from 2001-04.

“It seemed like it was destined to happen,” Orr said late in the year of UNT’s breakout season. “We felt that way coming into the year — that we had a good squad and we were going to play in some meaningful games.”

UNT’s all-conference players helped the Mean Green reach that point.

Orr leads UNT with 114 tackles, a total that ranks third in C-USA, to go with four fumble recoveries and 11 tackles for loss.

Chancellor leads the league in kickoff return average (28.1 yards per attempt) and punt return average (16.8 yards per attempt).

Trice’s five interceptions are the most among UNT players and rank third in C-USA. He has 83 tackles and eight pass breakups on the season.

Lemon has been named all-conference in each of his three seasons at UNT and earned first-team honors for the first time. The junior combined with Y’Barbo to help UNT head into the bowl season tied with Alabama and Tulsa for sixth nationally with 10 sacks allowed.

Bellazin is tied with Cory Henry of Florida Atlantic and Derrell Johnson of East Carolina for the C-USA lead with 7 1/2 sacks through the end of the regular season.

McCarney will benefit financially from turnaround

McCarney already has triggered one bonus clause in his contract for leading UNT to the Heart of Dallas Bowl and could reach another, depending on how the Mean Green fares against UNLV.

McCarney received a $15,000 bonus for leading UNT to a bowl game.

There also is a provision in McCarney’s contract that will pay him an additional $20,000 if UNT finishes in the top 60 of the final BCS standings.

UNT is sitting at No. 60 heading into the bowl season and likely would at least hold its position with a win over the Rebels.

UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal confirmed last week that the school is in talks with McCarney on an extension of his original contract.

McCarney signed a five-year deal with UNT after taking over the program shortly after the end of the 2010 season.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870 and via Twitter at @brettvito.

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